1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a recording medium for recording content such as audio data and video data, an editing apparatus for editing recorded content, and a recording system for recording content to the recording medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
In an electrically erasable non-volatile memory—called an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM)—one bit of data is stored by using two transistors. This two transistor configuration means that EEPROM circuits require a relatively large integrated circuit surface area which limits their integration density.
To solve this memory density limitation problem, a flash memory has been developed in which one bit is stored using only one transistor and wherein all bits can be erased simultaneously. The flash memory is expected to replace such recording media as magnetic discs and optical discs.
A removable flash memory card has been developed for use with various electronic devices. This memory card can be used in digital audio data recording/reproducing apparatuses instead of, or in addition to, conventional disc media such as CD (Compact Disc) and MD (Mini Disc).
Audio and video data recording systems that use flash memory card technology generally track recorded content using the FAT (File Allocation Table) file system. The FAT system is a file management system commonly used in personal computers for tracking and editing stored content. For example, assume a single musical composition is stored in flash memory as a single piece of audio data content. The FAT system then allows that piece to be edited either by dividing it into two or more pieces or by combining it with other pieces to form a single combined piece. Thus, the FAT system allows users to manipulate, as desired, content recorded on flash memory cards.
Recording systems using flash memory cards can transfer content to and from numerous sources using a variety of data transfer routes. For example, content can be copied or moved into the memory card from a recording medium like a CD, MD, or HDD (Hard Disc Drive) or be downloaded from a content service provider through a communication system such as the Internet. Likewise, content can be copied or moved into any of these systems from the memory card. Numerous other transfer routes to and from the memory card are possible. Note that “moving” content denotes transferring the data from one memory to another so that the content no longer exists at the source.
The problem posed by such systems is that regardless of the content supply source, content recorded on a memory card can be edited without restriction. This means content can be edited even when the content provider or the copyright holder of the content does not want their content to be edited. Thus, a means for disabling or restricting the ability to edit content is required.